Tenerife waste 17-point lead but Shermadini, Salin come in clutch to gift the semis' ticket / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Joventut Badalona and Lenovo Tenerife opened the Copa del Rey in style.

Lenovo Tenerife / Schedule

Joventut Badalona Lenovo Tenerife62-64 Real Madrid Lenovo TenerifeSat17:30

Carles Duran's men came back from 17 points deficit but Tenerife played a better stretch in the last minute of the game and survived the thriller, slipping by Catalans 64-62 (21-10, 15-13, 15-16, 13-23).

Tenerife will meet Real Madrid in the next phase.

Lenovo Tenerife gained the biggest lead of the game at the end of the third quarter, when their advantage marked 17 points (51-34).

However, Joventut did not raise the white flag. Led by Vladimir Brodziansky, the Catalans responded with a massive 18-3 push and cut their deficit to only 2 points (52-54) with 5:27 left on the clock.

Tenerife answered with three successful free throws (57-52). Though, both squads experienced the points' drought in the next couple of minutes. Vladimir Brodziansky and Derek Willis terminated the silence (56-57).

Joventut got a stop, while Joel Parra was fouled when shooting from deep on the other side. He converted all shots from the charity stripe to put Joventut in front for the first time in the match (59-57).

Sasu Salin let Tenerife breathe easier, draining a shot from behind the arc (60-59) with 43 seconds to play. Ferran Bassas missed the open shot and then committed a foul against Giorgi Shermadini. The latter sank both shots (62-59), while Vladimir Brodziansky's triple was off the mark.

Giorgi Shermadini was fouled again and consolidated Tenerife's victory (63-59).

The Georgian big man led the route for the winners, posting 12 points (2/4 2PT, 8/13 FT), 8 rebounds, and 18 PIR.

Joel Parra had 14 points (3/5 2PT, 1/5 3PT, 5/5 FT), 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and a game-high 21 PIR for Joventut.

Joventut: Ante Tomic 15 (9 REB), Joel Parra 14 (9 REB), Derek Willis 12 (7 REB), Vladimir Brodziansky 11.

Tenerife: Giorgi Shermadini 12 (8 REB), Tobias Borg 8, Aaron Doornekamp 8 (8 REB), Marcelinho Huertas 8, Kyle Wiltjer 8.

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